My sistacuz recently announced that her and her fiancé were expecting a bundle of joy in July, and I immediately started thinking of all the things that I could not have lived without so far and had to let her know! I figured that I would share my favorites and things I wouldn’t have made it through the days/nights without here on the blog as well! All us parents need to stick together right?!
So first off, blankets! Really any kind of blankets but for a baby it’s almost like there’s never enough blankets; either because they spit up on one, pee on one, poop on one… and unless you want to wash a couple blankets over and over again in the same day, you’re going to want a lot of blankets! I also have blankets that go with us in her car seat, one in her sleeper, one in her swing, one on the couch, one in her bassinet….so and so forth (you get the point now right?). You can never have too many blankets.
Same thing goes for Burp Cloths, you can never have too many so make sure to stock up on those! The smaller ones work just fine, but I liked using the receiving blankets as burp rags too. They cover more space than the smaller burp rags incase your baby really decides to spit up. http://www.target.com/p/circo-4pk-flannel-receiving-blankets-zigs-n-zags-pink/-/A-15125676. What’s great is you can use these for swaddling too!
I absolutely would not have been able to live without my bottle warmer! I wasn’t able to breastfeed as easily and our baby girl was on a bottle from day 1. When I was producing a lot of milk and was able to freeze it, we would have to take it from the fridge/freezer and warm it up and having the bottle warmer to warm the milk up was a life saver! I had to do it the “old fashioned” way a few times at my parents house and warm it up over the stove in a pot of water, and when you have a screaming/starving baby, that is not the ideal situation. So trust me, register for that bottle warmer you will thank me later!
I’ll just make a list below of other items that were my favorite for miss Rylie G, I will try to include links for things other than the formula and diapers, so you can easily find what I am talking about!
- Formula – Similac Pro Advanced
- Bottles – Dr. Brown – we had to try a few different bottles, and all babies are different, but we found that Rylie really liked the Dr. Brown bottles over the other ones like Avent and Tommee Tippee. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001IXYOD2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
- Diapers – Huggies – I love the Huggies over the other brands because they had a longer sticky tab, and seemed to fit more snug and secure.
- Wipes – Huggies – The wipes are not as wet as pampers, and I liked that more!
- Rash Ointment – Lemongrass Spa Healing Balm, https://www.ourlemongrassspa.com/kaydill/shop/CATALOG.aspx
- Lotion/Body Wash – Lemongrass Spa Baby Lotion and Body Wash
- Toys – Fisher Price Activity Mat – With Piano – Rylie LOVES this toy, it’s so fun because she has the toys that hang over her head to play with, and then she can kick and kick the piano. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F2MQ258/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
- Zip up footie pajamas – The button ones are cute, but when you’re up at 2 AM trying to change your baby’s diaper and have to try and button it all back up with your eyes half opened/zombie phase, you will thank me for getting tons of zip up footie jammies, they make night time go a lot smoother.
- Boppy – This helps a lot when you’re holding your baby to feed him/her especially when breastfeeding. 6 lbs doesn’t seem like a lot but when you’re holding them for a long time they definitely get heavy (and I definitely recommend you take this to the hospital with you as well, because after you give birth to your new bundle of joy, you are going to be EXHAUSTED, and it is amazing to have this boppy pillow with you to help hold your precious baby!) https://www.amazon.com/Boppy-Nursing-Pillow-Positioner-Peaceful/dp/B00HMGBJCS/ref=sr_1_2_s_it?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1483739906&sr=1-2&keywords=boppy
- Pack N’ Play w/ Changing table & Bassinet – Rylie has been sleeping in our room with us, and I have loved having this for her to sleep in. It’s great because once she outgrows the bassinet part, I can lay her in the actual Pack N’ Play because you can have the pad raised way up, and once she is older we will use it just for her to play in when we can’t keep a close eye on her, like when I’m cooking! The changing table is a great feature on this as well, I 100% recommend this product as we have loved it! http://www.target.com/p/graco-pack-n-play-playard-with-reversible-napper-and-changer/-/A-15078293
- Rock N’ Play Sleeper – We really liked this because it was easy to pack up when we were going to my parents/inlaws, and also to let her lay and nap in it wherever we were. The first month I had to have her close by at all times so it was great to have this and have her close by and see her. https://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Newborn-Rock-Sleeper-Meadow/dp/B014D50LCY/ref=sr_1_4_s_it?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1483741768&sr=1-4&keywords=Rock+n+play+Sleeper
Just a side note, for those who have never heard of Lemongrass Spa; they sell amazing products! All their items are all natural, and that is why I love using them for Rylie, because I know there are no harmful products going on her skin. The Healing Balm is seriously tried and true, I even used it for myself when I would chaf from my thighs rubbing together and get a rash (yay pregnancy), and it seriously disappeared the very next day. Rylie has only had a very little rash so far, and once I put the balm on it was gone on the next diaper change! The link that I put above is for the consultant I use, but you can definitely look for a consultant that lives in your area if you would like!
I will try to do monthly posts, or posts every few months on things that I find are my favorite, or favorite outfits for Rylie! Let me know what your favorite products are and why, both me and my sistacuz can use all the advice we can get on favorite items as we are both new at the whole parenting gig (soon to be new mommy in my cousins case 😉 ).
~XO, K
You can check out my cousin’s blog winewithaglassoflife.com, as she will be posting about her journey through pregnancy, and also on her engagement!
XO Keeves 